Blog: South Waterfront Blog

Baker Creek Greenway Takes Shape

Crews are paving the Baker Creek Preserve Greenway.

As June came to a close, Charles Blalock and Sons Construction crews were adding a key piece to the Urban Wilderness Gateway Park infrastructure - the half-mile-long paved greenway connecting Baker Creek Preserve and the gateway at the James White Parkway terminus.

The new Baker Creek Greenway will help make the gateway a true jumping-off point, as outdoor recreation enthusiasts use it to reach a new bike park and the rest of the Baker Creek Preserve. Plus, the greenway features a safer crossing of Lancaster Road for pedestrians and bicyclists and better connectivity to the neighborhood.

"The Baker Creek Greenway is an important connector for the park and surrounding neighborhood," says Rebekah Jane Montgomery, the City's Urban Wilderness Coordinator. "Not only will it make the connection between the existing Urban Wilderness system and Baker Creek Preserve to the new Gateway Park, but it establishes safer neighborhood access and road crossings for pedestrians and bikes to the park and into South-Doyle Middle School."

The initial two components of the $10 million first phase of the Urban Wilderness Gateway Park project are progressing on schedule and should be completed throughout this summer.

The Baker Creek Bike Park will offer a large asphalt pump track as well as several jump and skill lines of varying difficulty levels. There will be a kid-sized asphalt pump track – the perfect size for introducing and developing biking skills.

The initial Phase 1 work also includes parking, connector roads, greenways and utilities – providing the infrastructure to make a seamless connection from the Urban Wilderness Gateway Park entrance into other amenities in the 1,000-acre Urban Wilderness.

The second part of Phase 1, to start later this year, includes construction of a playground, pavilion and restrooms where James White Parkway now ends at Sevierville Pike.

Another upcoming feature will be a separated multi-use path along Cottrell Street. Once the Baker Creek Greenway in finished, this next connection will then take pedestrians and bicyclists along Cottrell Street and connect to Anita Drive and the South Waterfront area.

Here are a few more photos taken in the waning days of June of the Baker Creek Greenway being paved:

Crews are paving the Baker Creek Preserve Greenway.

Posted by evreeland On 01 July, 2020 at 12:28 PM